


Digressions on Jack

by Scutter



Series: Digressions [8]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 10:40:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1223299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scutter/pseuds/Scutter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Jack was just starting to enjoy herself."</p><p>A series of ficlets about Jack. Thank you to JsrPhoenix for this prompt.</p><p>Chapter 1 - Jack meets Kaidan for the first time... and decides to cause a little trouble.<br/>Chapter 2 - Jack visits a varren shelter. For biotic varren. You know what I'm talking about.<br/>Chapter 3 - Someone has upset Jack. And there are consequences to be had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rumours

Jack was just starting to enjoy herself. After Shepard had gotten her and her students out of Grissom Academy and they’d gone to join the war effort, she’d thought she was done getting rescue by him. But a drop gone wrong, and the coincidental arrival of the Normandy in their region of the galaxy had meant that she and her kids had been rescued by the King of the Boy Scouts _again_. 

But that wasn’t what had Jack feeling so jovial. No, her latest good mood was because, after she’d been given free access to the Normandy for the three-hour flight to their rendezvous, she’d done some exploring, seeing how the Alliance had improved what Cerberus had gotten their filthy paws on, and had run into none other than Kaidan Alenko, Shepard’s boy toy. She hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting him before, hearing that he’d been resting up in hospital after nearly being turned into a squishy mess on the side of a shuttle, and she’d been dying of curiosity to find out what kind of man could hold Commander Shepard’s attention.

And in the privacy of her own thoughts, she would have to admit that she approved. Kaidan was the type of man she could respect – loyal, diligent, capable. Way too serious for her personal preferences, and his studied, quiet nature made her suspicious, but there was something inherently trustworthy about him, and in her books, that made him a worthy squeeze for Shepard.

Now if she could just find out what it took to get that cool, calm mask to crack...

“So he forgave you for stabbing him in the back on Horizon?” Jack continued her niggling, which had begun some ten minutes earlier. She hadn’t been on the team that went to Horizon, hadn’t seen him then, but she’d heard all about it later, water-cooler gossip that some Alliance soldier had broken the Commander’s heart, and if she hadn’t personally seen Shepard moping about the ship like a bear with a toothache, she would never have believed it.

“Yeah. He’s got a big heart,” Kaidan said nonchalantly, carefully adjusting the sight on a sniper rifle at the weapons bench in the cargo bay. “Not the type to hold a grudge.”

Jack snorted. Oh, there were plenty of grudges that Shepard was holding. Against Cerberus. Against that reporter-chick who kept harassing him. Against that salarian salesman on Omega that had sold them a faulty thermal pipe... “And it doesn’t bother you that he hooked up with Tali? I mean, okay, you were away at the time, after you’d ripped his guts out and called him a traitor, but still, that’s gotta sting, right?”

Kaidan raised an eyebrow, startled for just a moment... and than that damned mask slid back into place and he smiled, _smiled_ , damn it, and shook his head. “Shepard never slept with Tali,” he said calmly, and Jack realised what was going on here. She narrowed her eyes. Fine, so Shepard must have warned Kaidan about her. Way to rip the fun out of the day, if she couldn’t even mess with his new crew...

“And how do you feel about being the woman in the relationship?” she asked, not able to resist the attempt at one more poke. “He is your Commander, I know, but you still outrank him... Do they teach you that in Alliance training? How to bend over and take it up the ass?”

That got a reaction... but it wasn’t the one Jack had been expected. No spluttering or embarrassment from Mr. Stick-up-his-ass. But the sideways smirk he shot her hinted at much more tantalising things. “Who says I’m the one bending over?” he asked slyly. “I do outrank, him, after all.” 

Jack felt her jaw drop as she realised that _that_ had simply never occurred to her. Shepard on the bottom? Really? She just couldn’t picture it. He was always so in control, dominating the room, the conversation, the battle field. She’d never imagined he wouldn’t also be the one to dominate the bedroom...

“Well,” Jack said, and hoped smoothly off the weapons bench. “Thank for you this _fascinating_ little chat. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go find out what the Commander’s up to.”

 

Kaidan watched the ‘psychotic biotic’ stalk out of the cargo bay, a grin on his lips. Thankfully, Shepard had Jack nailed. Her need to cause trouble, her protective instincts where the Commander was concerned... and her occasional glee at tantalising tidbits of gossip. He’d fully anticipated her grilling over his relationship with Shepard... and knew that Shepard was fully prepared for a mirroring interrogation, half-truths and sly deflections already on the tip of his tongue. He wondered how long it would take Jack to figure out that she was being played...


	2. Eezo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these have been a little slow in coming. I'm working on an original story at the same time... which will hopefully turn into a novel one day. So I have a lot less time than I used to. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Jack was just starting to enjoy herself. Not that she would ever - EVER - admit that. She'd come to the varren shelter on a whim, a throw away comment in a news article on the extranet commenting on the abuse that biotic varren received, and some dull spark of curiosity combined with a day off had sent her here for a look.

But what she'd found had been totally unexpected. She'd expected beaten, cowed animals that snarled and whined and generally felt sorry for themselves... or alternatively raving mad creatures full of aggression. But the varren currently tugging on the end of the stick in her hand was... playful. Cautious at first, but inquisitive. Suspicious but daring. And once the attendant had gotten him out of his cage and Jack had idly thrown a stick, curious as to what he would do... he seemed to have instantly decided she was his best friend.

Stupid animal.

But that didn't stop a grin plastering itself to her face as she finally wrestled the stick out of that slobbering mouth and hurled it across the yard again.

"They make great pets," the asari watching her said. "And as a biotic yourself, you'd be able to train him better than most humans could."

"What the hell makes you think I need some four legged flea-bag running around after me?" Jack snarled at the asari, needing to cover up her obvious enjoyment.

The asari shrugged and studiously looked away. "Pets aren't for everyone. Not trying to push you into anything," she said carefully. "You just seemed to have taken a shine to him. And him to you."

The varren returned and dropped the stick at her feet, prancing about expectantly for her to throw it again.

"Yeah, maybe," Jack said, keeping her voice deliberately nonchalant. "Not making any promises. But I'll think about it."


	3. Pleasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes out to my boss. Who is a crazy bitch. And I fantasise about torturing her the same way Jack tortures people. Namely, thoroughly, and with a clear conscience.   
> Enjoy.

Jack was just starting to enjoy herself. The man strapped to the chair looked the worse for wear, bruised, bleeding from a dozen wounds, his lip split and his eyes wide as he watched her sharpen her dagger.

“Let’s try this again,” she said patiently, looking the man in the eye. “You were sent to sabotage Shepard’s mission. I’m a friend of his, and I don’t like that. So one more time for the dummies: Where did you plant the bomb?”

“I didn’t plant it. That was Simon’s job. I just had to buy the chemicals- Aaaarrgghhh!” 

Jack jerked the knife out of the man’s leg, studying the wound for a moment to make sure she hadn’t hit any major blood vessels. No point in letting him die too quickly. 

“Wrong answer.” 

“It’s the truth! Simon was heading down into the wards. One of the bars Shepard goes to. I don’t know which one- Aaaaarrerrrgggghhh!!!”

Jack smiled, leaving the dagger where it was for the moment. It would give him something to think about for a while. 

It was hard to tell which side of the job was a greater pleasure for her at the moment. There was an inherent thrill in torturing a man – particularly a man she suspected of being a Cerberus operative, though he had yet to admit to that particular detail. But on the other hand, over the months, she’d developed a strong drive to protect the Normandy and its occupants – the Commander, in particular – and the fact that she had the chance to do so now, and be such a badass bitch about it, was a thrill all of its own.

“All right,” Jack said, taking out a second dagger and beginning to sharpen it all over again. “Let’s pretend for the moment that you don’t know which bar it was. That’s plausible. Just. But you must at least know who hired you to do this job, right?” She leaned down so she was eye to eye with the man, just inches away. He tried to retreat, but the ties strapping him to the chair prevented him from getting very far at all. 

“I know Cerberus has a habit of installing flash-bang grenades in its operatives to stop them from talking… but I anticipated that move, and ordered a special transmitter to stop the grenades from firing. Not sure if you’re actually carrying one at the moment, but I could always rip your face off to find out-“

“No! Please… I’ll talk. I’m with Cerberus. They were going to hit the Black Diamond, the bar down on level 53. I didn’t want to do this job – I admire Shepard! Hell, we’d all have been killed by the reapers years ago if he wasn’t on our side. But this is Cerberus, man… You don’t know what they do to people. They take your life. Your sanity. Everything! Please, if you have any sympathy, just let me go. I want out. Really!”

The man’s pleading might have been heartfelt… but unfortunately, his words only made Jack see red. She didn’t know what Cerberus did to people? Oh, she knew only too well…

Sympathy, though, she did have, having been taught that particular emotion by one infamous Commander, and she put her lessons to good use now. A dagger straight through the heart put the man out of his misery without any further suffering, and then she set about gathering and cleaning up her equipment. 

One more Cerberus operative dead, a solid lead on the plot against Shepard, and one more nail in the coffin of an old grudge.

It was turning out to be rather a good day.


End file.
